Jaguars, Browns square off with playoff implications as teams juggle quarterbacks amid injuries

JACKSONVILLE (8-4) at CLEVELAND (7-5)

Sunday, 1 p.m. EST, CBS

BETTING LINE: Browns by 3 according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

AGAINST THE SPREAD: Jaguars 8-4; Browns 6-5-1.

SERIES RECORD: Jaguars lead 12-6.

LAST MEETING: Browns beat Jaguars 27-25 on Nov. 29, 2020, in Jacksonville.

LAST WEEK: Jaguars lost to Bengals 34-31 in OT; Browns lost to Rams 36-19.

JAGUARS OFFENSE: OVERALL (12), RUSH (22), PASS (9), SCORING (9).

JAGUARS DEFENSE: OVERALL (24), RUSH (5), PASS (30), SCORING (20).

BROWNS OFFENSE: OVERALL (21), RUSH (7), PASS (14), SCORING (17T).

BROWNS DEFENSE: OVERALL (1), RUSH (14), PASS (1), SCORING (10).

TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: Jaguars plus-3; Browns minus-8.

JAGUARS PLAYER TO WATCH: WR Calvin Ridley needs to take on a bigger role with Christian Kirk sidelined because of a core muscle injury and Zay Jones still recovering from a sprained right knee. Ridley had four catches for 26 yards against the Bengals on Monday night, his seventh game with 40 yards or fewer receiving this season.

BROWNS PLAYER TO WATCH: DE Myles Garrett. Hampered by a left shoulder injury, Garrett failed to get a sack or even a tackle last week and didn't enhance his Defensive Player of the Year resume. He said the injury didn't bother him, but he wasn't himself. The Rams didn't take any chances that Garrett was less than 100% and double-teamed him on most plays.

KEY MATCHUP: Garrett vs. Jaguars LT Walker Little. Whether it's Jacksonville QB Trevor Lawrence, who is dealing with an ankle injury, or backup C.J. Beathard behind center, protecting them from Garrett is a priority. Cleveland's defensive line hasn't had a sack in two weeks and is itching to tee off. Complicating matters for the Jaguars is that Little, who stepped on Lawrence's ankle Monday night, is dealing with a hamstring issue and missed practice time. His backup is Blake Hance, a former Browns backup.

KEY INJURIES: After staying relatively healthy most of the season, the Jaguars got hammered with injuries against Cincinnati. Lawrence has a high ankle sprain that could force him to miss the first game of this three-year career. Kirk will miss multiple games. Little (hamstring), CB Tyson Campbell (quadriceps), DT Foley Fatukasi (heel) and S Andre Cisco (shoulder) also got banged up. ... Browns WR Amari Cooper (concussion) will likely sit out after getting hurt in last week's game. ... Browns CB Denzel Ward (shoulder) is expected back, providing a major boost to the secondary. ... Browns rookie QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson (concussion) remained in protocol through Thursday. ... TE David Njoku (knee) also missed practice time.

SERIES NOTES: Jacksonville is 7-2 in Cleveland. ... The Jaguars won the first six matchups against the Browns. ... In 2001, the teams were involved in the “Bottlegate” game when Browns fans, enraged by a controversial call in the final minutes, littered the field with plastic bottles and forced a delay. Jacksonville won 15-10.

STATS AND STUFF: The Jaguars are 4-0 in true road games this season and 6-0 away from EverBank Stadium, a flawless mark that includes two wins in London. … Lawrence has a QB rating of at least 100 in four of his five road starts this season. He’s the first Jacksonville player with 3,000 or more passing yards in each of his first three seasons. … RB Travis Etienne has a career-high eight rushing TDs this season. … Rookie WR Parker Washington filled in for Kirk last week and had a career-high six catches for 61 yards and a TD. … TE Evan Engram scored his first TD of the season last week. He now has 73 receptions for 606 yards. … OLB Josh Allen had 1½ sacks and his second interception last week. He now ranks third in the NFL with a career-high 13½ sacks. It’s the second most in a single season in team history. … LB Foye Oluokun leads the NFL with 131 tackles. … CB Darious Williams ranks second in the league with 16 pass defenses. ... An 0-2 trip to Denver and Los Angeles damaged the Browns' playoff chances. With Baltimore leading the AFC North by two games, Cleveland's path to the postseason will likely be as a wild card and the Browns can't afford many more losses. ... Making his first start in nearly a year, Browns QB Joe Flacco passed for 254 yards with two TDs and an interception last week. Flacco was signed on Nov. 20 as protection after Deshaun Watson was lost with a season-ending shoulder injury. The 38-year-old Flacco's performance will make it tough for any quarterback to blame rustiness for as a factor following a layoff. ... Browns coach Kevin Stefanski is 8-0 against the AFC South. ... The Browns have outscored their opponents 113-61 in going 5-1 at home this season. ... Despite showing some vulnerability in recent weeks, Cleveland's defense continues to lead the NFL in several statistical categories. ... The Browns are allowing teams to convert 27.6% on third down (42 of 152), a league low. ... This is the third time Cleveland has started four QBs in a season. The Browns also did it in 2008 (Derek Anderson, Brady Quinn, Ken Dorsey and Bruce Gradkowski) and 1988 (Bernie Kosar, Mike Pagel, Don Strock and Gary Danielson). ... Flacco connected with eight receivers last week.

FANTASY TIP: With Cooper likely out, Browns WR Elijah Moore moves into the No. 1 receiver's role. Last week, Moore was targeted 12 times by Flacco and had his best game since coming to Cleveland — 4 catches, 84 yards. The two have chemistry after spending two seasons together with the New York Jets.

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